Talking Swords on the Brooklyn Set of History's New Reality-Competition Series

We hung out with the smiths behind Forged in Fire and lived to tell the tale.

A crusader broadsword arced into a raw cow femur, clacking as it impacted. The bone, horizontal on a rack in the back room of a Brooklyn studio, weathered four additional blows before it cracked apart as the sword sliced through it on the fifth strike. The blade's wielder and craftsman, David Baker, examined the blade's edge after he'd finished the demonstration. "I don't know if I could shave with it," he remarked.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Dull as the blade may have been, the broadsword held its form. Lesser weapons could shatter and bend against the bone, twice as thick as, and much denser than, those of the sword's historical target: man. Properly forging a blade that can pass endurance tests and be combat-ready can take days to weeks. The four contestants of each Forged in Fire episode have three hours.

Judge David Baker demonstrates a blade.

Parker Feierbach/Esquire

Most Popular

History's newest competition show, which premieres tonight, challenges smiths from across the country to, in the first of three rounds, forge a sturdy, deadly knife under a strict time limit. Following rigorous testing and an elimination, the smiths must then create a suitable hilt for their knife. Finally, when only two smiths remain, they have a week to replicate a particular historical weapon that not only retains its edge and cuts clean, but is period-accurate. The winner of each episode walks away with $10,000.

The show's three judges determine whose steel is most worthy of the prize. Baker, a veteran of Spike's Deadliest Warrior and Hollywood prop man, is the authority on historical accuracy and aesthetic beauty. Mastersmith J. Neilson examines the technical qualities and tests the durability of the swords, while martial artist Doug Marcaida determines how effective the weapons would actually be in their natural habitat: combat.

Stirring the pot is Wil Willis, a former ranger and pararescueman. More than just a moderator, Willis makes sure the audience can understand the three experts' technical jargon. "Like, they'll start talking about the atoms in the metal and that's all great, man," Willis said. "Just tell me what's happening."

Parker Feierbach/Esquire

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Producer Tim Healy observed the demonstration, and later the filming, from the sidelines. The idea for Forged in Fire came from his and other developers' love of food competition shows like Chopped and Iron Chef. They felt that food, however, wouldn't resonate with History's core demographic. Instead, according to Healy, they landed on weapons. Mixing the DNA of food competition shows and historical weaponry, Forged in Fire was born and the finest blacksmiths in the land were gathered.

When two contestants are winnowed out and the weeklong third round begins, Healy said that's where the history really comes in. "We've chosen weapons that are rich in history," he said. "We not only talk about specific items and what makes them historically significant, but also how they were used in battle and the time period that they were used."

Parker Feierbach/Esquire

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Willis and the judges assert that while the show is hugely educational from a scientific and historical aspect, it's also full of elemental wonder. "They use their hands to create these things from nothing," Willis said. "They take lumps of raw metal, a metal orb of steel, and they turn that into an elegant blade. And to see that happen before your very eyes in three hours? It's amazing."

"And don't forget their spirit. It's a competition," Marcaida added. "A lot of these men are competing and you can see the stress get to them. Sometimes some want to quit and some forge on."

Most blacksmiths forge in their own shops, alone and at their own pace. On the Brooklyn set, the contestants share one workshop with a giant digital clock counting down the seconds for their challenges. As open as the space is, when four men begin to melt the steel, the set heats up in no time. As the forge swelters, nerves fray and mistakes are made. Blades snap, schedules are thrown out. According to Neilson, one contestant had to leave the set and cry on the bathroom floor before returning to complete the challenge. Keep in mind, all of these men are seasoned smiths.

Parker Feierbach/Esquire

"It's tough enough going into cutting contests where you've got anywhere from 40 to 70 people show up," Neilson said. "And these guys are doing it on national television." And yet, through the stress and the heat, winners emerge from the forge with truly gorgeous weapons. The judges, though, won't just let a beautiful, handcrafted weapon go unscathed. "Not very many shows where you're allowed to take somebody's $7,000-dollar Damascus sword and beat it into a four-by-four," Neilson said.

One beauty, a Viking ax, is Baker's next toy to play with. Given the same test as the crusader sword, another cow femur is racked. As Baker swung down, the femur split with a single stroke. The ax remained sharp. "So now you see a process that's been around for literally thousands of years brought into perfection," Willis said as the split femur dangled. "Dave can cut into this cow bone and have his blade be perfect at the end of it. And that's what we want to see from our smiths. That level of attention to detail."